NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — I love golfers like Aaron Rai, because they do a series of things that can only be described as "quirky." Some people crack jokes about those things, but golfers like Rai, the new PGA champion, don't care about that. They only care about playing better golf. And if doing something slightly unusual helps them play better golf, then who cares what it looks like or what other people say about it. Because for whatever reason, it works.

It's an attitude the rest of us can learn from. And as for how it manifests in Rai's game:

1. He wears two rain gloves

This one is the most obvious to anyone who watches. Most golfers wear one leather glove on their left hand. Every now and again a golfer comes along wearing no gloves. There's really only been one golfer (Tommy Gainey) that I can think of who wore two gloves. Rai goes even one step further than that: He wears two rain gloves.

The reason why is obvious: It gives him better grip. A company sent him a pair, he tried them, liked them, wore them ever since.

David Jensen

2. Iron covers

You've probably heard this one before, too. Rai puts iron covers on his irons. It's a move that's almost universally ridiculed, but Rai does it for a genuinely heart-warming reason.

"It started from the age of 4 years old, when my dad used to pay for my equipment. He paid for my membership, paid for my entry fees. It wasn't money that we really had, to be honest, but he'd always buy me the best clubs. When we used to go out and practice, he used to clean every single groove afterward with a pin and baby oil, and to protect the golf clubs he thought it would be good to put iron covers on them. And I've pretty much had iron covers on all my sets ever since, just to kind of appreciate the value of what I have."

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Continuing on the equipment theme, Rai uses castle tees of various colors instead of traditional wood tees. Wood tees look normal, but Rai doesn't care. He uses these kind of tees because they have a little platform, which guarantees he tees the ball up the same height every time.

Richard Heathcote

4. Dot on golf ball

Rai only uses golf balls with "1" on them, but that's a fairly common superstition on tour. He marks his ball with a line, but also places a small dot in the middle of that line.

Why? Well, the line is for alignment, and after he uses that to align his putter, he focuses his eyes on that tiny little dot. It's a method known as "quiet eye"—and it helps.

5. Standing on a stick

Watch Rai on the range, and you'll notice every three to five golf balls he takes a break to stand on an alignment stick on the ground.

"It's a balance check. I want to check to make sure the stick and my weight run right through about the middle of my foot," Rai explains. "I don't want the weight too much on my toes or heels. I want to make sure I'm very balanced at setup."

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The traditional advice is to play the ball inside your left heel at setup with your driver. That helps you hit up on the ball to maximize distance. Rai, true to form, doesn't do that.

He plays the ball back—almost in the middle of his stance. It started as a technical adjustment that forced him to rotate his body instead of flipping his hands. He keeps doing it now because the results are low-rising bullets.

7. His hips 'stop' mid-swing

Ask Rai about his own golf swing, and he'll pinpoint one thing that looks different that he's never quite understood.

"About halfway through the release, my hips almost start coming backwards a little bit," Rai explains. "I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing. The ball's already gone at that point, so I'm not sure it matters, but it's something that's been in my swing for a long time."

It's not a bad thing. Rory McIlroy's hips did something similar. It happens when a golfer has strong oblique muscles that contract forcefully, temporarily reversing the direction of your hip turn.

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8. Me and My Golf logo

Did you notice that Rai wears a Me and My Golf logo on his hat and shirt? That's because he's been working with the two coaches behind it, Andy Proudman and Piers Ward, since he was 11 years old. They decided to sponsor him early in his pro career, and Rai has been loyal to them—both as a student and sponsor—ever since.

The saying goes experience is the best teacher. If that’s the case, then an awful lot of tour pros are going to learn some lessons on Sunday at the 2026 PGA Championship.

Entering the final round at Aronimink Golf Club, Alex Smalley has a two-stroke edge on the field. However, there are 21 players within four strokes of his lead and given the turbulence seen on the leaderboard all week—14 different players held a share of the lead on Saturday—the final 18 holes are likely to be dramatic and unpredictable.

Among those nearly two dozen names are players with vastly different résumés. Smalley, for instance, has never led a PGA Tour event after 54 holes let alone won a tournament. Similarly, his playing partner in the final round, Matti Schmid, is competing in just his fourth major

Conversely, a little ways down the tee sheet there are the likes of multiple major champions Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas.

The obvious thought would be that those who already have competed in the heat of the battle on the Sunday of a major—and come out on top—have an edge on those who haven’t. But looking at the contrast between the players in the chase, the difference in their results is striking and extreme. Take a look at the chart for the leaders playing this afternoon:

Again, consider the contrast. While eight of the 22 have won a major championship, eight of the 22 have never had a top-10 finish in a major. Fourteen players don’t have as many starts in major championships as Rory McIlroy has top-10 finishes (34).

Smalley and Schmid are a particularly intriguing final group. They are familiar with each other from their college days and so that should make things a bit less stressful considering the circumstances.

“I've played with Matti a few times. I think we both graduated college in 2019,” Smalley said Saturday. “He played in Louisville in the ACC, so I'm very familiar with him. Matti and I actually paired up together in the New Orleans event three years ago, so we're good. We're good buddies. We're familiar with each other. So I think that will kind of help both of us tomorrow as well. I'm looking forward to that.”

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